http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/8768828

VA health care : allocation of resources to medical facilities in the Sun Belt : report to congressional requesters

Pursuant to congressional requests, GAO provided information on: (1) whether the Veterans Administration (VA) provides equal access to care for veterans in the Sun Belt region; (2) seasonal fluctuations in veterans' demand for care in the Sun Belt and other areas; and (3) whether VA considers changes in demand for care when it allocates resources to its medical centers. GAO found that: (1) from 1981 to 1985, the Sun Belt veteran population increased by about 0.6 percent, while the veteran population elsewhere declined by about 3.7 percent; (2) during the same period, veterans' demand for health care in the Sun Belt increased by 11 percent, compared with 7 percent elsewhere; (3) the proportion of the total VA workload that was carried out at Sun Belt facilities during the same period decreased; (4) funding for VA Sun Belt facilities increased more during the same period than did funding for facilities in other parts of the country; and (5) while some facilities in Florida were unable to provide care for veterans with non-service-connected conditions, facilities elsewhere were underutilized. GAO also found that: (1) VA Sun Belt facilities generally experience greater demand for care during winter months; and (2) some VA officials do not believe that migrating veterans have a very large impact on seasonal fluctuations in demand and workload. In addition, GAO found that: (1) VA attributed instances of the denial of timely medical care to ineligibility, physician judgments, unavailability of treatment, and administrative errors; (2) most instances of denial of timely care occurred in connection with nonemergency, non-service-connected conditions; and (3) a VA study showed that instances of denial of care were more frequent at facilities in Florida and the rest of the Sun Belt than in the rest of the nation.

Open All Close All